Da Couch Tomato

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Cinema, television, literature, and music–basically anything that can be reviewed. If you're interested in writing reviews, e-mail us at dacouchtomato@gmail.com. We won't pay you for reviews, but you get to practise your writing skills. It's a win-win situation for everyone.

Review: Mr. Peabody & Sherman, or Learning About Time-Killers

I classify animated films into two categories: 1) time-killers; or 2) works of art. This film, sadly, belongs to the first category.

WHAT IS A TIME-KILLER?
Despite how awesome it may sound (like it's some villain from Doctor Who or something), time-killers do exactly what the name says: they kill time. It's the type of film you watch because there's nothing better to do while waiting for your wife as she gets her nails done.

IS IT CALLED A TIME-KILLER BECAUSE THIS FILM IS ABOUT TIME TRAVEL?
What? No. That's just coincidental.

ARE ALL TIME-KILLERS BAD?
No. Bad time-killers are those that make you fall asleep. That would've been a waste of money. Good time-killers are, at the very least, entertaining. So Mr. Peabody & Sherman can be considered an example of a good time-killer.

Also, it has time travel. It mentions the time travel doctrine of not being able to go back to a time when you existed. You always have to go back further than your date of birth to avoid a paradox.

WHAT WERE THE FILM'S STRENGTHS?
I liked the animation. DreamWorks is a key player in computer animation today. In terms of technical achievement, that is. Story-wise, it's still Pixar in my book, although Disney's Frozen seems to have shaken things up a bit.

I also loved the character designs. And Ty Burrell's puns. It's so Modern Family. I also loved how the two subplots developed.

WHAT SUBPLOTS WERE THESE?
The first is the enemies-turned-lovers subplot between Sherman and that bully Penny. Eyeliner + eyeglasses = ♥. The other one is the father-son subplot between Sherman and his adoptive canine father Mr. Peabody. That "I'm a dog" bit almost got me teary-eyed.